others.[1689] The Peruvian Incas, but not other Peruvians,
married their sisters.[1690] In the Vedic mythology the first man and
king of the dead, Yama, had his sister, Yami, to wife. In a hymn these
two are represented as discussing the propriety of marriage between
brother and sister. This shows the revolt of later mores against what
once was not tabooed.[1691] The scholars think that Herodotus (III, 31),
by his story of the question whether Cambyses could marry his sister,
shows that such marriages were not allowed amongst the ancient Persians.
They are mentioned as a usage of the magi. In the Avesta they are
prescribed as holy and meritorious. They are enjoined by religion. They
were practiced by the Sassanids,[1692] although in the Dinkart version
of the law they are apologized for and to some extent disavowed.[1693]
After the time of Cambyses such marriages occurred, especially in the
royal family. They now occur amongst the Persians.[1694]

+520.+ In the Chaldean religion the gods and goddesses were fathers,
sons, brothers, sisters, and mothers, as well as husbands and wives, to
each other. The notions of "son of god" and "mother of god" were very
current. Marduk is son of Ea and intercessor for men with him.[1695] In
the laws of Hammurabi, if a man consorts with his mother after the death
of his father, both are to be burned. Incest with a daughter is punished
only by banishment. This light punishment may be only a concession to
public opinion, since the culprits injured no interest but their
own.[1696]

+521.+ In the Old Testament Abraham married his half-sister by the same
father. In 2 Sam. xiii. 13 it is shown that such a marriage was
allowable in David's time, but Ezek. xxii. 11 refers to such a marriage
as an abomination. Nahor's wife was his niece by his brother. Jacob
married two sisters at the same time, both his cousins. Esau married his
cousin. Judah took to wife his son's widow, but disapproval of that is
expressed. Amram, the father of Moses, married his paternal aunt. These
unions were all in contravention of the Levitical law. There are
statements of the law which differ: Levit. xviii and xx; Deut. xxi. 20;
xxvii. 20-23. In Ezek. xxii. 10 and 11 incest is charged as a special
sin of the Jews. In the post-exilic and rabbinical periods the law
varied from the old law. In general it was extended to include under the
taboo more distant relatives.[1697]

Marriages between brothers and sisters were al